The middle of the world!


Advertisement
Ecuador's flag
South America » Ecuador » North » Quito
November 10th 2008
Published: November 22nd 2008
Edit Blog Post

On the EquatorOn the EquatorOn the Equator

NIck stood on both sides of the equator
Another early morning start on Sunday - 5 am!
Arrived in Quito some 3,000 metres above sea leavel and surrounded by the Andes. We dumped our stuff at the Magic Bean Hostel and headed straight for Mitad Del Mundo (The Middle of the World), where they have live entertainment on Sundays. We stood on each side of the equatorial line and took pictures, then took off again to visit the historic old town. San Fransisco Plaza and Plaza Grande were just full of magnificant historical buildings, again surrounded by the Andes.
Visited the famous Otavalo Market where you can haggle with locals for various arts and crafts. I got a wooly hat down from $4 to $2.5 - bargain!
Apparently Ecuador has 68 volcanos of which 31 are active. We climbed Cotopaxi, which is actually the world{s largest active volcano (5,900 metres). I only managed to get to 4,800 until the altidude started affecting me, so stayed in the Cabin there and had a nice cup of hot chocolate while Boucs climbed a further 200 metres to reach 5,000. There is so much to do in Ecuador. Shame we don't have much time here. Next stop Lago Agrio for our Amazon
Otavalo MarketOtavalo MarketOtavalo Market

Its all about hagling!
trip!


Additional photos below
Photos: 7, Displayed: 7


Advertisement

Treking in the AndesTreking in the Andes
Treking in the Andes

Boucs in the Andes
CotopaxiCotopaxi
Cotopaxi

Nick getting ready to climb the highest active volcano in the world!
CotopaxiCotopaxi
Cotopaxi

The world's highest active volcano
CotopaxiCotopaxi
Cotopaxi

Made it to 4800 metres


Tot: 0.133s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 10; qc: 26; dbt: 0.1161s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1mb